Orland man gets 135 days in assault

ELLSWORTH, Maine — People facing charges in separate cases in Hancock County Superior Court pleaded guilty last week and either have begun serving their jail sentences or been given credit for time served.

Two of the cases involve domestic violence charges, two involve drugs, and one involves possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to court documents.

Ryan P. Sieber, 33, of Orland pleaded guilty July 7 to charges stemming from an incident last December in Orland in which he allegedly threatened to kill a woman.

In April , Sieber was indicted by a Hancock County grand jury on charges of criminal threatening, terrorizing, assault, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, obstructing the report of a crime and violating conditions of release and a protection order. Last week, as part of an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to criminal threatening, assault, and violating his bail and the protection order. The remaining charges were dismissed, court documents indicate.

Sieber received an overall sentence of three years behind bars with all but 135 days suspended. He also was ordered to serve two years of probation upon his release.

Sieber’s attorney, Jeffrey Toothaker of Ellsworth, said Wednesday that the 135 days amount to time Sieber already has served behind bars while waiting for a resolution to his case. According to Toothaker, the Hancock County District Attorney’s Office agreed to the sentence despite Sieber having prior assault and criminal threatening convictions because the victim in the most recent case was not cooperating with investigators.

Also on July 7, Chester Bunker, 42, of Bucksport pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an incident that occurred Dec. 15, 2008, in Bucksport. Bunker was charged with assault, criminal threatening, terrorizing and obstructing the report of a crime and, last week, pleaded guilty to all charges, according to court documents.

Bunker, who was accused of holding a knife to a woman’s neck and threatening to kill her, received an overall sentence of six years with all but 23 months suspended and three years of probation. Bunker was convicted of assault in Ellsworth District Court in July 2007 and January 2008.

A Prospect woman pleaded guilty July 9 to illegally selling prescription drugs in Prospect on March 8, 2008, and to possessing prescription drugs in Bucksport 10 days later, Superior Court documents indicate.

Melissa Herbest, 42, was facing charges of unlawful possession of scheduled drugs and unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs. She was accused of selling 10 clonazepam tablets for a total of $40 to an undercover police officer in Prospect and then of having four oxycodone and methadone pills in her purse when Bucksport police stopped her on suspicion of shoplifting from a local pharmacy.

Herbest received an overall sentence of 30 months with all but 166 days suspended. She also will have to pay $800 in fines and serve a probation term of two years.

A Prospect man pleaded guilty in Superior Court last week to a charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, according to court documents. In 2001, Mark A. Wescott, 42, had been convicted in federal court in Bangor of conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana and cocaine.

Last month, Wescott was ordered to serve a year and a day in federal prison for violating the terms of his federal probation. On July 10, he received a state sentence of 10 months in jail, to be served concurrently with his federal sentence.

On July 10, Torrey E. Garland, 32, of Ellsworth pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful possession of heroin. Garland was sentenced to 18 months behind bars with all but 60 days suspended. Garland’s sentence was stayed until 6 p.m. July 31. He will have to serve two years of probation upon his release, court documents indicate.